the killer in me is the killer in you
by Hidding-In-Shadows
Summary: Long ago, the four nations had lived in harmony. But everything changed when the Southern Water Tribe attacked.


Long ago, the four nations had lived in harmony. But everything changed when the Southern Water Tribe attacked.

The air was so cold that the mist from her attack had formed into crystals on her cheek instantly. She ignored her instinct to simply rub them away, and instead pulled the water particles from her cheek and joined them with the rush of water she pulled from the hollowed out walrus-shark tooth on her belt. Her attacker moved, curling his own water around his body before bending it into two dozen icicle daggers and rushing them her way. The girl grunted, eyes narrowing as she quickly raised an ice wall, defending herself, before slamming a foot to the ground, pushing the wall quickly towards her opponent.

"Katara!" A hollar came from behind the wall, which was quickly transformed into its liquid state. "I did not travel here to have beginner moves thrown at me. I have trained you for years now, you should be using more advanced bending techniques than this."

"Master Pakku, I apologize," Katara said, gritting her teeth. (No matter what she tried, it wasn't good enough.)

"It took a lot of convincing from your father to get me to travel all the way down here," the Master Waterbender snarled, his aged face twisting into a look mixed between anger and frustration. "You may be my blood, but that doesn't mean I'll be soft on you. You have been using moves I taught you within our first month of training. I expect more from you."

With his final words, Pakku stomped on the iceberg, breaking the sheet in half. He gave Katara one last stern look before bending the ocean around him, using the strong waves to glide himself across the water and towards the outline of the Southern Water Tribe. Katara could see the tall, snowy walls from where she was, a faint light glowing from the Tribe. It's growth had been substantial in the last fifty years as the scrolls told. When Katara was born, the walls were up and the Tribe was bustling. The Chief's home was being rebuilt, using material from the Earth Kingdom to create a skeleton of the home before waterbenders and tribespeople built the snowy and icy outer layer, decorating the home with a traditional Southern Water Tribe exterior. Now, at the age of sixteen, Katara had watched the walls be taken down and expanded three times and their simple home had transformed into a palace of ice. Northern Water Tribe people migrated South, making homes and families. Ever since their successful raid against the Fire Nation almost forty decades ago, the Southern Water Tribe was the most powerful Nation.

Which made Katara's father, Chief Hakoda, the most powerful man.

Which made her the most powerful princess and heir to the Tribe.

(Or so, that's what the other nations thought.)

"Katara!" A new voice rang out from across the water, breaking Katara from her thoughts. She turned towards the voice, blinking away wet tears that she didn't realize were forming. Katara quickly rubbed her eyes with her royal blue sleeve. She watched as her brother's fishing boat came close to the iceberg. The young man gave his little sister a lopsided smile. "I'm going to go fishing. Want to come along?"

Truthfully, all she wanted to do was stand there and watch the water sway, meditate until her heart was at a slow, steady rhythm so she could work on waterbending. Her form was getting sloppy, her temper was beginning to act up, and Master Pakku wasn't going to let it slide forever. A few months prior to her sixteenth birthday, when had been informed of her future as Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, her bending had slipped. (She tried to push the memory that triggered the degresion of her bending far into her mind.) Everything her master had taught her escaped her when they trained. While deep in meditation, she could focus on the water, its push and pull.

Her brother grinned wider.

"Sure," she shrugged, walking towards his boat. It was a simple wooden canoe, one he had carved and made with their father on his sixteenth birthday two years ago, and although there were a few holes that were hastily patched up, Sokka was too prideful to find a new one. (Also, if any water flooded in, she would bend it back out of the holes it leaked through.)

"Dad said that Arnook and Yue are coming in a weeks time," Sokka said as he pushed off the iceberg, "and I want to practice fishing. I'm hoping to ask Arnook for Yue's hand."

"You two are already arranged," Katara huffed, putting her chin in her hand, "what's with the formalities?"

"Well, as future Chief of the Northern Water Tribe-,"

"Oh here we go again…,"

"What? I have to look good. Arnook already had a strong candidate for Yue before I went there. Some soldier named Hahn. Even though Dad arranged it, I still have be credible."

"No, I get it." Katara sighed, waving her hand over the water that had begun to leak into the canoe.

"What's up with you?" Sokka raised an eyebrow at his sister, placing the paddle back into the canoe. "Pakku seemed a little … well, more Pakku-like when I saw him leave your training."

"Don't worry about it Sokka," Katara sighed, freezing the water over one of the small holes in the canoe. "I've just been … out of sorts lately. It's probably the new moon, it's no big deal."

"Katara, you've been out of sorts ever since-,"

The waterbender sent her brother a deathly glare, making him shut his mouth. He sighed heavily through his nose before grabbing the spear from the bottom of the canoe. (Did he really not realize that the floor just had a layer of water a moment ago?) Sokka turned on his bench and peered outside of the canoe.

"There's usually some good ones around here," he muttered more to himself than to his sister, "maybe I can try that cove I found the other week."

Katara hummed as she also peered over the canoe. At first, she didn't see any movement within the icy waters. She figured that their canoe probably scared the fish away, but when she closed her eyes and pushed her senses out, she felt the water below them vibrate with energy. Too much energy for a school of fish.

"Sokka, something doesn't feel right." She warned, placing her hand into the water for a better feel.

"I see one coming this way right now!" He hissed, readying his spear.

"No, Sokka, I'm serious."

"Shut up, it looks really big and it's coming this way."

"Sokka-,"

"Katara!"

The second he threw the spear, a huge dome of water appeared in front of them. Katara winced at the sound of the water releasing the object; a huge icey sphere with dark figures inside. Sokka lost balance in the canoe as a wave rushed underneath them. He threw the spear haphazardly, tumbling off the side of the canoe and into the water. Katara gripped at the edge of the canoe, wobbling as the waves past, her blue eyes wide and locked on the orb.

"I missed!"

"You're really worried about that?" Katara hissed, steadying the vessel as her brother clumsily climbed back in. "Not about the huge, random ice orb with figures inside that just came out of nowhere?"

"Oh," Sokka looked towards the formation, blinking water from his eyes. "I didn't even … what is that thing?"

"I don't know," Katara said, "I felt an energy in the water but …,"

Sokka picked the paddle back up, ignoring the spear that floated in the water next to him. He paddled towards the formation as Katara bended the water from his body and clothes, drying him off so he didn't become a total popsicle.

The siblings moved closer to the object until Sokka lined his canoe up right next to it. Katara stood up, pressing her hand against it and closed her eyes. Though she could see the dark figures in the ice, she couldn't feel them. There must have been some barrier between the icey exterior and whatever resided inside. Katara opened her eyes once more and waved a hand over a portion of the ice in front of her, making it turn from a misty color to a shear, glassy icicle. She pushed her hands to it, cupping her face against the ice.

"Holy Tui," Katara whispered, pulling back from the orb.

"What? What is it?" Sokka asked, standing as well.

"There's … it's a boy and some giant … creature. They're trapped inside."

"What? How is that even possible?" Sokka said, eyes narrowing.

"I don't know!" Katara growled at him, "Stop asking stupid questions."

"Well, what should we do?"

Katara looked between her brother and the iceberg. She was the future Chief, she had to make decisions much more difficult than this. (Decisions that has costed lives.) Katara took a deep breath and closed her eyes, expanding her senses to the water around her. She let her breath out through her mouth and adjusted her feet before raising her hands. Sokka watched as his baby sister bended, a crack forming in the ice in front of them. It ran upwards, splitting the sphere in half. Katara quickly flicked her wrists and the two halves flew off. Before the two got a good look at what was inside, a blue light blinded them.

The two shielded their eyes, wincing at its intensity. Soon, though, the light vanished and the two peered back. Inside was a young boy. He had a shaved head and donned orange robes. A light blue tattoo worked its way over the top of his head, ending in a pointed arrow. His hands were folded in his lap, also donning the same arrow tattoo. His tattoo's seemed to glow with the same blue light, and he opened his glowing eyes. Behind him laid a massive creature, six legs sprawled out. Before Katara or Sokka could react, the boy's tattoos stopped glowing and his eyes rolled in the back of his head. He fell forward, sliding down the slab of ice that remained from the sphere. Katara panicked, bending a small wall in front of the edge of the iceberg, stopping the boy from landing within the water.

"What in the world is that thing?" Sokka said, gripping at the walrus-shark tooth knife that was sheathed at his side. Katara followed his gaze to the creature.

"Maybe a pet? It doesn't look dangerous."

"And you said that about the bison-bear."

Katara rolled her eyes and went back to bending, breaking off a portion of the iceberg where the boy had landed and influencing the oceans current to bring him to her. She peered at the boy, examining his clothes and how his was relaxed. He had an orange tunic pulled over his shoulder and pale yellow pants. Both were far too thin to survive in the North Pole. His tattoos were odd. Many of the men and women in the Tribe had tattoos, but they were created with dark, black ink and took place of animals or unique patterns. She had one of her own that marked the raid she lead. (No matter how hard she tried it wouldn't scrub away.) This boy had simple, light blue ink stained into his skin.

"Leave the creature," Katara said, her voice dropping and becoming serious, "I'm sure Dad or Pakku will know who this boy is. He looks like he's from another Nation."

"Okay," Sokka said, nodding. The siblings had turned into their other selves, their warrior training and chief preparations taking over. Sokka helped Katara board the boy and turned the canoe away from the laying creature. He placed his paddle back into the canoe and Katara inhaled before sitting back down and bending the water around the vessel, pushing the canoe forward with incredible speed. Within a few minutes they had returned to the shore of their Tribe. Outside stood a dozen guards, armed and ready. Their dark blue uniforms stood out against the pure white of the walls. They all gripped spears that were carved by the finest craftsmen and decorated with rich paints from the best painters. The tips of their spears donned metal which was sent from the Earth Kingdom. They use to use carved walrus-shark tooth and bone, but now those spears were used purely for hunting.

Katara and Sokka pulled up to a snowy dock against the shore of the land and as Katara tied the canoe down amongst the other ships, Sokka heaved the boy onto his shoulder. He stepped out of the canoe, Katara following as they made their way to the single gate of the wall. The guards all bowed to the royal siblings, two of them pushing the huge, bone doors open to allow them pass. (New metal ones were being sent from the Earth Kingdom in a few days, along with sketches from the best Earth Kingdom strategists for a new wall.) None of them challenged the unconscious boy over Sokka's shoulder.

Upon entering the Tribe, people bustled around. The outskirts of the Tribe was filled with igloo homes. They were makeshift and used for the poor to sleep in free of charge each night, an initiative Katara's mother had made when she stood by the Chief. Scattered around the homes were tall, guard posts, raising above the wall to watch out for any incoming traffic. The bases of the towers were used as barracks for the soldiers, who would be stationed at a different tower each month to avoid familiarity and allow for the soldiers to always be on their toes. As they continued to walk, the homes disappeared amongst merchant shops. There were restaurants, clothing stands, and food stands all mingled together to create the Tribe Trade Center. In the distance, Katara could see the metal gates that surrounded the palace, which were encased in icicles due to the cold.

As the siblings walked through the Trade Center, tribespeople parted, bowing and mumbling greetings to the siblings. The two continued on, their faces molded to look like the Chief's they would one day become. As they neared the palace, guards began to flank their sides, ensuring that no one would stop them or distract the two, question them or the strange boy they had.

Katara melted the ice on the gate of the fencing around her home and pushed the doors open, waltzing in with authority to her step. Sokka followed close behind her, adjusting the boy on his shoulder. Word must have traveled fast among the soldiers to Chief Hakoda. Their father stood in his Chief robs, a mixture of royal and dark blue clothing. His coat was thick, fur spilling from around the cuffs and neckline. Pure silver thread lined the royal clothing and the wind blew at a few stray hairs that had escaped his wolves tail. His face was pulled into an expressionless canvas, eyes strong, though a flash of curiosity danced across them when he spotted the strange boy over Sokka's shoulder.

"Chief," Katara and Sokka both grunted, beating their fists across their chest twice. Hakoda nodded to them, a signal for one of them to speak.

"We were out fishing," Katara said, glancing to Sokka who had adjusted the boy on his shoulder, "and I felt an energy under the water. Suddenly, a large ..," she paused for a second to think of how to explain the experience.

"A large, hollowed iceberg," Sokka continued, "sprung out from the water. Katara looked through it with her bending and saw this boy and a creature inside. She opened the orb and then we took the kid with us. We thought that maybe you or Master Pakku may have some insight. It looks like he is in a different Nations colors."

Hakoda's eyes scanned over the two siblings as if he were evaluating their story. He then waved his hand before turning around and walking up to the palace doors. A guard opened it wide as the Chief entered. Katara and Sokka climbed the few snow stairs that lead to the front door and entered their home.

Inside was warm. The floor was decorated with elegant volcano-rock tiles from the Fire Nation. The walls stood tall, painted a simple baby blue color. Two large stone fireplaces flanked the side walls, roaring with heat from the intense flames within them. There was a servant at each fireplace making sure the flames continued throughout the day. Above them hung an icy chandelier. Hakoda took a sharp right, walking toward the right flank of the palace where the dining rooms, meeting rooms, and social rooms were laid out.

"The creature you mentioned," Chief Hakoda's voice was low and strong, gravely from the many years of controlling a whole nation. "Where is it?"

"We left it behind," Katara said, "it seemed harmless and was asleep, just like the boy."

"I see," there was an uncertainty behind his words, "I'll have a group of soldiers go retrieve this creature and bring it back as well. Master Pakku is in the study."

The three walked a bit more, passing large, bone carved doors before stopping at a smaller one, the handle sprinkled with frost. Katara quickly bent the frost away before her father turned the knob.

Inside the room was dark, the tall windows against the back wall had been drawn closed, and a few candles flickered around the room. Tall, long bookshelves made aisles down the room and ran along all of the walls. A few desks were scattered near the front of the room, candle sticks on them and ready to be lit if needed. At one of the desks sat Master Pakku with his head in his hands and a scroll in front of him. A single candle flickered by him, giving just enough light to read the inked words from the ancient scroll. They had scrolls and books dating back a thousand years in the room, most taken from the vast library system of the Fire Nation after they were demolished.

"Master Pakku," Hakoda gave a small bow towards the man in apology, "Sorry for interrupting your studying, but it seems as if my children have run into a stranger and need some answers."

The Master Waterbender looked up, a single gray eyebrow raised. He looked towards his own grandchildren, then his eyes flickered to the boy on Sokka's shoulder. They widened a bit and the old man suddenly bolted up out of his chair.

"Put him down," he growled, "lay him on the floor."

Sokka quickly did so, gently placing the boy down. Pakku kneeled next to the boy, his hand hovering of the boys head before long fingers gently ran over the pale blue tattoo that graced the boys head.

"Do you know who he is?" Katara asked.

"Oh yes," Pakku said, "but no one has seen him in years. I was told stories about him when I was a boy. Though, I did not think his tattoos were this pale. The way he was described … they would emanate with light."

"When the orb opened," Katara said, "there was a blinding blue light before we saw him. It came from his tattoos and eyes … Master Pakku?"

The man suddenly had a wide-eyed look, fright dancing in his iris'. He took his hand back and then closed his eyes, lips moving in a prayer.

"My dear family," the strong voice of the Master Waterbender disappeared and was replaced by a shaky, breathless whisper. "We're look at Aang, the Lost Avatar."


End file.
